Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – President Asif Ali Zardari, elected Saturday, September 6 by Parliament and four provincial assemblies, is scheduled to take office on September 9. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and Co-President of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 481 of the 702 votes from the electoral college.
The new President, who reappeared on the political scene following the death of his spouse who was killed in an attack in December 2007, is not a new political figure in the country, as he spent eleven years in prison facing accusations of corruption, making him a fairly controversial figure.
The elections in Pakistan have been marked by violence. In Peshawar, a car bomb exploded, leveling several buildings, killing 30 people, and wounding 80. The main defeat has been suffered by Nawaf Sharif, two-time Prime Minister and great adversary of former President Musharraf, who also renounced for corruption. According to analysts, after months of political instability, which have placed the country’s economy in crisis, the nation is hoping that the new President will restore stability, now that his party has control of the Presidency and the Government.
The country is facing a serious internal conflict in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan, under the control of Taliban, Islamic, and fundamentalist groups. Among the country’s biggest challenges, in addition to terrorism and the tense relationship between the government and civil society, is the economic situation and the revision of relations with the United States, of whom Pakistan has been a major ally in the war on terrorism worldwide. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 8/9/2008)
